Deepak Gupta

Recovery and re-victimisation · Also called fund recovery scam, fictitious law firm, recovery room scam, scam recovery lawyer

Fake law firm and asset recovery scam

An asset recovery scam targets people who already lost money to a scam. Someone posing as a lawyer, law firm, or recovery agent, often claiming links to the FBI or a regulator, promises to get the money back. They charge upfront fees, taxes, or charges, then vanish or keep asking for more.

How it works

The scammer finds past victims through social media, online reviews, adverts, or data from the earlier scam, or waits for victims to find their advertisements.
They claim to be a law firm or recovery agent, sometimes with a link to the FBI or another government agency, and may know the exact amounts and dates of earlier payments.
They say the money has been traced or is held at a foreign bank, and ask for identity documents and bank details to verify the victim.
They charge a retainer, then back taxes, release fees, or other charges, until the victim stops paying.

Red flags

Someone contacts you offering to recover money you lost to a scam.
They ask for an upfront fee, retainer, tax, or charge before any money is returned.
They claim to work with the FBI, a regulator, or a government list of scam victims.
They want payment in cryptocurrency or to a third-party company, and will not give credentials you can check yourself.

If you are targeted

Stop contact and do not send more money or share financial or identity details.
This is a recovery scam: anyone who asks for a fee to recover lost money is not going to return it.
If they claim a link to the FBI, contact your local FBI field office using the number on fbi.gov to check.
If you paid or shared bank details, contact your bank at once.
Report it. Our Report a scam page lists where to report in your country, such as ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov in the US.

Where to report, by country

Prevention

For individuals

Know that the FBI says law enforcement does not charge victims a fee for investigating crimes.
Be wary of adverts for recovery services, especially those with vague language, little online presence, and promises to recover funds.
Check any lawyer through the official bar or law society register, and contact the firm using details you find yourself.

For organisations

Social media platforms can remove adverts and profiles that promise guaranteed recovery of scam losses.
Banks can warn customers who have reported a scam that recovery offers are a common follow-up scam.

By the numbers

Figures are for the reporting category this scam falls under, not this scam alone.

Recovery scam losses reported to the FBI IC3 in 2025, which may include losses from the earlier scam (part of Losses reported to the FBI IC3 in 2025)

$1.4B

US, 2025, FBI IC3

Real cases

No documented case in the atlas yet. New cases are added as they are sourced.

Delivered through: Social media ads and posts, Email phishing, Voice phishing (vishing)

How official datasets classify it

UK Finance: Advance fee scam
Scamwatch: Money recovery scams

Questions

Can a lawyer get back money I lost to a scam?: Be very careful. The FBI warns that fake law firms target scam victims, and the FTC says anyone who asks for an upfront fee to recover your money is a scammer.
How did they know how much I lost?: Scammers who offer recovery may be linked to the original scam or may have bought lists of past victims. Knowing your details does not make them genuine.